Table of Contents
Keep Simplifying >Contents of this ebook--all section headers, case studies, tactics, tips, and notes
PREFACE: This ebook is my Walden
NOTE: This ebook is biased
NOTE: This ebook is not professional advice
SEARCH: Search this ebook
You can simplify your life
Is your life too complex?
CASE STUDY: Kyle is a single father raising his 4-year-old daughter, Nicole.
CASE STUDY: Maggie's employer forced her to retire early.
CASE STUDY: Kevin gets up on Saturday, reads the newspaper and has coffee.
CASE STUDY: Denielle is a graduate student at a State University.
Use this ebook to simplify your life
This ebook is for anyone who wants a simpler life
Look for tactics in this ebook
Look for the case studies in this ebook
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Rule your stuff
Don't keep what you don't need
Purge your stuff
TACTIC: Reduce the amount of stuff you have by examining each item you own and asking yourself if you really need it.
CASE STUDY: Kevin does the clutter triage on the stuff under his bed.
TIP: When purging a group of items you may find it helpful to get three boxes or bags and label them GARBAGE, GIVE AWAY, and SELL.
Dejunk your home
CASE STUDY: Denielle looks through her possessions in her small bedroom.
TIP: You can live without a dresser, armoire, freestanding closet, or wardrobe.
TIP: A college student should travel light.
TACTIC: Cut through your clutter by regularly performing the clutter triage on one small area of your home at a time.
TACTIC: Consider disposing of extra versions of items that you can only wear one at a time.
TACTIC: Check through your home and dispose of items you tend to accumulate, but can always get more.
TACTIC: Pay particular attention to getting rid of items that are useful, but not in the quantity you may have accumulated.
TACTIC: Rethink your choice of owning structures that hold items; for example: shelves, dressers, or free-standing wardrobes or storage units.
TACTIC: Get rid of all television sets you own.
Eliminate big items
TACTIC: If you rent storage space because you can't fit all your stuff in your home, this is God's way of telling you that you have too much stuff.
TACTIC: Get rid of unused major appliances, furniture, and vehicles as soon as possible.
TACTIC: Question the need to have a car.
TACTIC: Reconsider the need for a vacation home or property.
TACTIC: Ask yourself if you really need sport boats, vehicles, and other large pieces of equipment.
Stop incoming junk
Stop Junk mail and Telemarketer Calls
TACTIC: Send your name and address to a mail preference service to get yourself off many postal mailing lists.
TACTIC: Whenever you receive an unsolicited sales call via telephone, be prepared to interrupt the caller and asked to be placed on their DO NOT CALL list.
TACTIC: Register with a telephone preference service to be removed from many telemarketer's databases.
TACTIC: : Place a neatly lettered NO SOLICITING and NO HANDBILLS sign near your front door where a door-to-door salesperson will see it.
TACTIC: For all credit cards, member organizations, or even service companies such as banks, phone companies, or energy untilities you use, request to be placed on a DO NOT CALL list for no phone solicitation.
TACTIC: Avoid entering contests or drawings where you supply your name and address.
TACTIC: If you receive electronic mail, use email reading software that can filter your incoming mail into folders.
Manage the incoming flow
TACTIC: Reconsider all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and newsletters that you have.
TACTIC: End membership in any club or organization that you have not participated in during the past six months.
TACTIC: Cancel all but one or two credit cards.
TACTIC: Request to be removed from catalog mailing lists.
TACTIC: Make it a habit to sort your incoming postal mail immediately.
TACTIC: Have a routine for getting rid of incoming peridocials.
TACTIC: Resist impulse buys.
TACTIC: Donate gifts you receive but do not want.
TACTIC: Avoid shopping as recreation or therapy.
Take an inventory of everything you own
TACTIC: Make an inventory of everything you own.
TACTIC: Use the stuff inventory process to identify items you don't want or need.
TACTIC: The stuff inventory is an important record that you should store carefully in a safe deposit box or with a trusted friend.
Organize Your Stuff
TIP: Plastic storage crates substitute for dressers.
TACTIC: Organize your stuff by function within the space you have in your home.
TACTIC: Use bags, boxes, or containers to place like items together.
TACTIC: Avoid storing things in hard-to-access places.
TACTIC: Be willing to have empty areas in your home.
Protect your stuff
TIP: Campus theft can be tragic.
TACTIC: Stay alert to avoid being a victim of theft.
TACTIC: Rent a safe deposit box.
TACTIC: Take out home owners or renter's insurance.
TACTIC: Inform yourself of and follow the proper use guidelines of each item you have.
TACTIC: Backup key electronic information and data.
TACTIC: Copy or digitize important documents and photos of
Buy Wisely
TIP: Buy cheap, competent computers.
TIP: Renewable batteries are a good value.
TIP: New hires should travel light.
TACTIC: Avail yourself of consumer information when making buying decisions.
TACTIC: When you buy electronics, computer supplies, or any technological item, look for standard, stable, and competent technology that is as simple as possible.
TACTIC: Buy miniature or travel versions of items.
TACTIC: Buy compatible items in terms of style, color, and parts.
Optimize your place
Love Your City
Choose your region
CASE STUDY: Maggie and George have always wanted to live somewhere else.
TACTIC: Make a list of regions of the country or the world where you've dreamed of living.
TACTIC: Get more information about the regions on your dream list.
TACTIC: After gathering information about the regions on your dream list, travel to those places if possible.
Choose Your City
TIP: New Urbanism suggests a compact urban form.
TIP: Love your city.
CASE STUDY: Kevin realizes that his dream of snowboarding isn't going to fly where he presently lives.
TACTIC: List the potential cities where you'd like to live in your region.
TACTIC: Stay at least a week in a city where you consider moving.
TACTIC: After gathering information and some visits, list the pros and cons of living in the cities on your list.
TACTIC: After careful consideration, choose your dream city finalist.
TACTIC: Establish resources before moving to a new city.
Choose your quarter
TIP: The shortest distance in a city is not necessarily a straight line.
TACTIC: Think about why you want to live in a city and list the areas of the city that relate to those reasons.
TACTIC: Visit potential quarters of your dream city that you have identified as close to your areas of interest.
TACTIC: Make a final choice of a quarter to live in after synthesizing all your information and impressions.
Choose Your Neighborhood
TACTIC: List what you want to have in the nearby environment of your neighborhood.
TACTIC: Look for neighborhoods that are walkable.
TACTIC: Look for neighborhoods that offer access to stores and services that meet many of your routine needs.
Have the Right Home
Choose Your Home
TIP: There is no such thing as owning "rent free."
Consider the costs of buying a home
TACTIC: If you want to simplify your life, consider not owning a home.
Rent a home
CASE STUDY: Kevin gets a small apartment at a ski resort.
TIP: The studio apartment is a good value.
TIP: Free housing and get paid to sleep.
TACTIC: Make a list of potential rental properties by using newspaper classified ads, Internet rental sites, or even a walk through the neighborhood looking for signs.
TACTIC: As you consider rental properties, look first for these fundamentals: safe, clean, pleasing
TACTIC: If a property is fundamentally safe, clean, and pleasing to you, take the time to go through a detailed checklist.
TACTIC: Consider renting the smallest apartment you can.
TACTIC: Make your final choice in your apartment and neighborhood by taking all the information you've gathered into account, but choose what you genuinely want--trust your "gut feeling."
TACTIC: See if you can find living arrangements for low or no cost in exchange for your work or time.
Set up your home
CASE STUDY: Denielle photocopies a map of the city where she lives.
TACTIC: Be spare and frugal in furnishing your home.
TACTIC: Take security precautions in your home.
TACTIC: Renting a post office box or a commercial mail and package service for yourself can aid in your security, stability, and convenience.
TACTIC: Plan the layout for your apartment based on the function of spaces.
Hone Your Routine
Establish sustainable habits
Take care of your time
TIP: There are many alternatives to television.
CASE STUDY: Kyle works at a major aerospace company as an engineer.
TACTIC: Take a time inventory.
TACTIC: Arrange your work hours so that you start earlier, avoid the commuting crowds, and give yourself more daylight hours off work.
TACTIC: Anticipate and avoid peak use time for stores, streets, restaurants, services, and offices.
TACTIC: Establish a regular, weekly shopping and errand day.
TACTIC: Eliminate any time committments that don't matter to you.
TACTIC: Practice saying, "no," so that this word is on your lips when asked to make a committment you are not willing to accept.
TACTIC: Use a paper or computer-based organizer to write down your schedule and names and phone numbers.
TACTIC: Stop watching tv.
TACTIC: Don't allow yourself to be late for appointments or deadlines, except for emergencies.
TACTIC: Mine scraps of time.
TACTIC: Schedule genuine downtime and fun time.
Be instantaneously productive
CASE STUDY: Kevin wants to try his hobby of photography, but his equipment is stored in different places in his apartment.
TACTIC: Break down your projects into chunks and then to specific tasks, and then work on the tasks regularly.
TACTIC: Prepare in advance the time, tools, training, and information you need to work on your project tasks.
TACTIC: Work on project tasks in scheduled time blocks.
Take Care of Yourself
TACTIC: See a qualified health professional about an exercise, dental hygeine, and nutrition program that you can sustain.
TACTIC: Seek professional help for depression or mental distress.
TACTIC: Quit smoking and the misuse of alcohol or drugs.
TACTIC: Keep to a fixed sleep pattern by waking up at the same time each day.
TACTIC: Tell the truth.
Take care of your money
TIP: Joe's grocery shopping tips save money.
TIP: Do I have to be a cheapskate?
TACTIC: Save up to hundreds of dollars per month by not having a car.
TACTIC: Make and pack your own lunch when going to work or school.
TACTIC: Get rid of "luxuries" you don't need.
TACTIC: Use automatic deposit of your paychecks and automatic withdrawal of routine bills from your checking account.
TACTIC: Make and keep a budget.
TACTIC: Establish low cost suppliers for routine services and products.
TACTIC: Use services provided by training schools to reduce your costs.
Take care of your information
TACTIC: Completely inventory and securely store the most sensitive information about your personal identity and finances that, if stolen or lost, would pose very great risk to you.
TACTIC: Completely inventory and protect sensitive financial and personal documents that, if lost, would pose risk to you.
TACTIC: Protect confidential information about your life or finances that if lost or stolen would pose some risk to you.
TACTIC: Backup your paper or computer files regularly.
Be prepared for urban and travel situations
TACTIC: Prepare and carry an urban kit that contains essential supplies for going around town or traveling.
TACTIC: Don't give money to or accept anything from strangers.
TACTIC: As you travel around town or around the world, remember, "A good soldier never gets separated from his [or her] gear."
Be prepared for emergency situations
TACTIC: Learn and respect every safety precaution for your activities in sports, work, home, or hobbies.
TACTIC: Prepare a basic first aid kit and get first aid training.
TACTIC: Prepare a basic home survival kit to contain supplies and 72 hours of food and water.
Live Your Dream
State your dream
Find Your Dream
CASE STUDY: Kyle isn't satisfied with his job as an engineer.
TACTIC: Brainstorm your dream by quickly answering hypothetical questions and examining the pattern they reveal.
TACTIC: Generate dream ideas by looking at your priorities and past.
Express Your Dream
TACTIC: Take time to contemplate your dream and then state it simply and honestly.
TACTIC: Tell your dream to others.
Support your dream
Set aside time
TACTIC: Schedule time to think about your dream, set long-term and short-term goals, and plan tasks.
Gather resources
CASE STUDY: Denielle is happy with her life as a graduate student, but she wonders what "the real world" is going to be like.
TACTIC: Gather information that will support your dream.
Unleash Your Dream
Gain Your Dream's Benefits
TACTIC: Find a way to immediately implement some aspects of your dream.
Be Ready for Your Break
TACTIC: Be alert and ready for opportunities.
CASE STUDY: Kevin loves persuing his love of snowboarding in Colorado
CASE STUDY: Maggie and George spend some time discussing their lifestyle and goals.
Tap into resources
Participate in Support Networks
TACTIC: Participating in support, barter, trade, or exchange networks may be a good way to meet some of your needs efficiently.
Examine Your Needs and Define Your Networks
TACTIC: Establish a support network of friends, colleagues, and professionals who can exchange services with you.
TACTIC: Develop a network of trusted, nearby people who can take care of your home, pet, or plants when you are away.
Develop information networks
CASE STUDY: Kevin has a hard time finding the right equipment and supplies for his photography hobby.
TIP: A business card helps networking.
TACTIC: Use your personal network of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to help you to find contacts, get ideas, and refer you to other people.
TACTIC: Use your public library to access a treasure-house of information and knowledge.
Use Internet information and communication
Gain access to the Internet and Web
TACTIC: You can access the Internet in a variety of public places.
TACTIC: You can get a Web-based electronic mail account to send and receive email.
Consider very carefully if you need to own a computer
TACTIC: If you buy a computer, go for simplicity that meets your needs.
TIP: A laptop computer gives you flexibility.
Choose a stable Internet service provider
TACTIC: If you get an Internet account, use a quality service, and consider a permanent email address.
TACTIC: If you want your own Web site for business purposes, get your own domain name.
Use Internet Resources Wisely
TACTIC: Know the nature of Internet information and the major keyword and subject searching methods on the Web.
TACTIC: Establish a routine of communication and monitoring information.
Make your simple logbook
TACTIC: Prepare a notebook to record your notes, plans, thoughts, ideas to simplify your life.
Use this Web site
TACTIC: You can ask me questions about this ebook.
TACTIC: You can send your own suggestions or comments about how to simplify your life.
TACTIC: Access a variety of Web sites to get ideas to simplify your life.
TACTIC: Access a variety of books to get ideas to simplify your life.